Todd Blackburn

Private First Class Todd Blackburn is a former Ranger from 3rd Battalion 75th Rangers Regiment, who was born February 27 1975. He took part in Operation Gothic Serpent (more commonly known as the Battle of Mogadishu) as a member of Task Force Ranger. As he was preparing to fast rope from Super 67, Blackburn missed the rope, falling between 60-90 feet ( 18.29m-27.43m). In reality, the helicopter was not evading RPG fire, as portrayed in the movie. It is unknown why he missed the rope. Severely injured, he was extracted back to the Mogadishu Airport, which was being used as the forward operating base for JSOC and the rest of the coalition, by Struecker's column.

In the 2001 movie of Black Hawk Down, Blackburn was portrayed by Orlando Bloom.

Trivia

 * In the movie, while talking to Jamie's dead body, Eversmann mentions that "he was talking to Blackburn the other day". While this line may seem out of place, Eversmann does have a conversation with Blackburn in a Deleted Scene.
 * Contrary to the films depiction, PFC Blackburn arrived in Mogadishu at the same time as the rest of his unit.
 * Todd spent almost a month in a hospital in Germany before being transferred to Walter Reed Medical Center, where he spent over two years recovering from his injuries. Todd was medically retired, and went on to work in his home town PD of Pensacola, where we worked numerous divisions, including K9, Narcotics, Patrol, and as an SRO. He recently resigned from the Sherrif's Office of Santa Rosa County Florida, to focus on his personal life, and helping other veterans.